With two outs in the ninth Hideki Matsui had a bases loaded opportunity but weakly flew out to the warning track in right. The last out of the game was a fitting conclusion to a hard fought series by both teams, Tampa Bay had plenty of chances but continually proved that the absence of Evan Longoria is evident in nearly every loss. The adjectives are running out to describe how streaky the Rays offense has been this season.

The injuries and lack of lineup consistency have led fans to see the good, the bad and the ugly of the Rays offense.

Biking for Baseball has now visited 15 MLB stadiums and watched 15 “official” games this summer. We put together a Midseason Award list that was determined by compiling stats and personal experiences from the 15 games we’ve seen. Enjoy!

MVP – Justin Smoak – Mariners 5/12, 8 RBI, 4 runs, 2 BB, 1 2B, 3 HR.

We’ve seen the Mariners play 3 times this season, and it seems like Smoak saves his best games for when B4B is in attendance.

What a Christmas gift! Check out this wonderful Christmas YouTube video of Connor getting a signed Jackie Robinsonbaseball card. Jackie Robinson is his favorite player and Connor is floored. We want to know, come Christmas morning what baseball card would you want to see under your tree? Send us a tweet at @getrealbaseball and let us know.

On April 15th every year we celebrate Jackie Robinson day. Jackie was a pioneer of the civil rights movement, as a result of breaking major league baseball’s colour barrier in 1947. To say that Jackie was an incredible baseball player, is just listing one of his many significant accomplishments, as his brave actions paved the way for other civil rights activists, where Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. followed suit years later. Worthy to note is that Jackie was really just one of many talented ball players who made sacrifices far greater than most of us have experienced, and endured racism and hatred far worse than what most of us can even fathom. Several weeks ago I did an interview with the President of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, Bob Kendrick, which you can listen to here. I had the pleasure of meeting up with Bob recently and he took me on a tour through the museum:

The baseball community has been trying to bring back the Expos for sometime now. MLB was a central part of the sports community in the City of Montreal (and Quebec) for decades before the franchise made its way to the US capital and became the Washington Nationals. Matthew Ross of the Montreal Baseball Project was interviewed on TSN 690 AM in December 2013 and the interview is a must listen if you are a ball fan in La Belle Province. The old rumor mill is on high alert with the talk being that grounds of the Montreal Children’s Hospital and the adjacent ground could be the future site of a baseball stadium. This would be the launch pad for a new approach to the commissioners office as part of a bid for a new team. The idea makes sense if you consider that the new mega hospital (and subsequent relocation of the Children’s) will leave the whole Atwater Street and St Catherine Street area open for redevelopment. Maybe Peter Sergakis will get behind this move?

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